Review: 700 Sundays

Billy Crystal is at his best when he’s doing imitations. It’s a little surreal that he may be at his very best when he’s imitating himself. 700 Sundays is a surprisingly intimate glimpse Billy’s childhood and family. Set on a stage mock-up of the front of his childhood house, home movies and still photos play at different points in the show. Billy talks the audience through some of the key happenings in his life. You know, the basics: sitting on Billie Holiday’s lap during his first movie and spending time at his uncle’s jazz label, Commodore Records.

Throughout, Billy is imitating different stages of himself: as a five year old trying to impress musicians with his tap dancing, as a fifteen year old in the throes of puberty coping with his father’s death. One act is an extended imitation of Billy’s aunt coming to terms with the marriage of her daughter to another woman. Bittersweet is the adjective that comes to mind most readily to describe the show, and yet it doesn’t do it justice. It’s rare to see anything so personal in a public setting. Despite the continual theme of loss (of innocence, music, family) running through the show, the audience walks away feeling like they’ve been given something.

700 Sundays runs through December 17 at the Golden Gate Theatre